Chapter 790: 779

Title: Hail The King

"You know, it feels pretty good to win while suppressing myself," Nik turned back and eyed the girls standing behind him. While the area in front of him was the depiction of frozen purgatory, the area behind him was much less affected due to Nik's own control.

However, his smile couldn't stop the girls from gazing at the entirety of the hall now turned into an ice cube, technically, an eternal ice cube. Janet shivered at the sight of such destruction. A few moments later in her act of escaping would have given her a ticket to experience this frozen hell herself!

"Hey! Didn't you know I was behind Hela?" She scowled and flew over to Nik, her tiny pixy body filling his vision as he chuckled. "Of course, I knew it. But you've got to believe in me, you know, I wouldn't have hurt you at all," Nik raised his hand to let Janet land on his palm as she crossed her arm.

"This is going to cost you dearly mister! Next time I go out to scout, you're coming with me!"

"Punishment fits the crime," Nik snickered.

"She's still active in there," Morgan looked through the surface of the ice and saw a green source of light flickering within the giant wall of ice as Nik looked in that particular direction with a sigh.

"That's the best I can do with just a single element," Nik smiled as his understanding of the element of ice and indirectly, the element of water increased from 30 to 36%, firmly stepping into the realm of a grandmaster.

"But check this out! I'll just name this eternal water," Nik grinned and created a drop of water from the giant ice and let it drop on the icy floor. Instead of freezing, the drop started to expand without any stop.

"This is trippy," Jennifer frowned but then looked towards Nik, "Are you going to remain this thin from now on?"

As she said. Nik had slimmed down once again but he slowly shook his head as he manipulated his body to grow bigger and reverted to his original skin tone. However, his body was now formed of eternal ice and his lustful bloodline held a bluish tone to its color.

"Better?" Nik inquired with a smile as he flexed his left arm, making Jennifer chuckle, "At least, you won't look like a child when standing next to me."

"Alright, you guys stand back now. I'm gonna take care of her for real... she's kind of crazy," Nik sighed as he summoned the soul ruler.

Without releasing Hela, Nik waved his hand as the soul ruler pierced through the eternal ice, revealing its true might. Nik didn't have to control the ice at all. The ruler was this impressive!

Nik used his senses to observe an irate Hela within a ball of fire as she continued to feed the flames of death with her magic. With Nik's own encounters with cosmic energy and magic, he knew Hela's ability to wield them both. But her preference itself tilted towards Magic. As she tried to slowly overpower the most annoying ability she had to face in her life, a silver ruler suddenly phased through her flames and instantly tapped her forehead.

*Tuc*

A soft sound echoed but aside from Hela, nobody could hear it. Instantly, she felt her body freeze up. The ball of flames still surrounded her but all her resistance came to a halt.

Meanwhile, outside the ice cube, Nik narrowed his eyes and nodded internally.

'Using soul ruler directly on the souls is far more effective than using it through the body.'

Malekith, someone who waged wars over realms was so horribly enslaved that he would be willing to commit the most humiliating act in a heartbeat. However, Tigra, Ignit, Morgan, Lucifer, and now Hela. All these had their own thoughts and deepest of unconscious resistance at the tap of Soul Ruler.

*Pssshhhh*

"You know... I had to fight a woman while all of you were still here..." Nik sighed as the ice started getting absorbed into his body, raising his physique's quality by the slightest notch.

"You said you didn't mind facing death," Jennifer smiled.

"Still... it's like this. If you guys feel something wrong, and I ask you about it. You guys will probably say nothing's wrong. But then, if shrug and agree, you will feel bitter why didn't I push you to—"

"Woah, way off, buddy," Janet snickered, "If I say nothing's wrong. Or, I am busy, that would probably just mean, back the hell off!"

"Yes... who would have time for such formalities," Morgan narrowed her eyes.

"I... would," Nik and Poole replied without hesitation.

"Because you two are idiots and perverted!" Spider hissed.

"But I get the point you're making," Jennifer sighed and walked forward. Without waiting for Nik to speak further, she hugged him from behind. She was still a head taller than Nik and pressed her breasts against his neck while cooing gently.

"Aww, let me take care of you. Did the mean woman give you owie?" She pouted her lips and made a babyface while Nik's expression turned dark.

"I probably can induce lactation into you..." he mumbled but Jennifer just giggle and kissed the top of his head, "I'm just messing with you. Anyway, I thought you'd be colder given... how flaky your fight was before."

"I can control my bodily temperature. Warm Ice is still ice," Nik shrugged.

Soon, the ice melted and he revealed a dangerous ability. The undead covered in ice were simply absorbed, the act which made Morgan's eyelids twitch.

"What's this ability?" She inquired eagerly. Anything that is an undead's weakness is also her weakness in a form.

"Not an ability. But understanding. As long as it's ice and not controlled by anyone else, or, the controller has a realm of undertaken below me, then I will be able to completely absorb the ice. Er... think of me as a sort of an Ice Spirit. Japanese call female ice demons of such nature as Yuki-Onna, I think."

"What about conflicting understanding? What if these undeads were filled with aspects of nature you have very little or no understanding about?"

"Then it won't work. These guys were controlled like a puppet. So, it looks like Hela didn't necessarily create and mark any of them."

Nik replied. There was no need to hide these simple aspects of understanding from others. In fact, if they know it, they'll be prepared for surprises from enemies.

But, the battle had already affirmed Nik's mind to contribute half his mind to turn into a training junkie. Sure, Hela is thousands of years old and should prove difficult to face. But, who enjoyed difficulty?

'I'm gonna be a grandmaster in all elements! I'll find all the infinity stones and I'll... try to complete my Karma. Seriously, what did I snort to try and turn the world prevalent with equality?!' He sighed internally. The strength he had gathered in this world could easily outshine the first two adventures and it already rivaled his treasures from glory city.

Of course, items of unique nature such as Nightmare Demon Pot and such were exceptional.

"Hey, there," Nik smiled as he looked at a dry and frowning Hela, "You wanted Poole and Spider? Go ahead."

"What did you do... Lord?" Hela's eyes widened as she couldn't believe her own words.

"Lord? Hmm, has a nice ring to it. Lord of Hel. Ruler of Souls! Vanquisher of Sinners and Admirer of Virtues! Of course, Sin being child killing and Virtue being the devotion to lust," Nik gave an unruly smile while the girls pursed their lips.

Did they really do it?

Did they just conquer Hel?

Even when children fight over a toy, or the right to take the swings first, they would come out with injuries but this...

Spider couldn't believe her eyes.

This happened.

Now, in her life, the craziest thing isn't a symbiote digesting her in her real world and living as her persona, instead, it was tagging in on what she still considers a vacation for Nik and an excuse by him to have sex with more girls, and seemingly conquering Hel. All they did was walk on ice.

Heck, she just stayed inside the Pocket this whole time!

She and Poole were just the 'pocketeers' of this epic.

"Hela, please tell me this isn't the only living area in the entirety of Hel?"

"Lord... no, I mean, grr," Hela growled but she only spoke up, "This is merely the front of my personal dungeon. Leah and I will be there to make your stay as comfortable as possible."

"See? You did eye that girl..." Jennifer scowled.

"How is this on me?" Nik shrugged, "And I didn't eye her. I only eye... eastern legal lolis... like Pavakā. Sigh... sweet Pavakā and Virya," Nik smiled slightly as he recalled the two spirits.

'Exotic Escort did not reveal any mastery of their elements in their panels. I must make sure that the two no longer laze around... in fact, they are lazing too much!'

Nik relished the chance of turning into an element so that he can gain a better understanding of the said element but those two were really taking their gifts for granted!

"Lord..." Hela clenched her jaws, "Please follow me..."

"If it helps," Morgan smiled derisively, "try to enjoy the feeling of being dominated at such a primal level. It makes things more fun," of course, as a great enthusiast for being 'disciplined' by the rod, she had every right to give suggestions.

*Gasp*

Poole gasped but stayed quiet this time.

The hall itself had no point of entrance or exit. Of course, it was hidden and Nik, after being freed from the fight, used one of his most crucial abilities— Psychic Aptitude— to investigate the structure of the hall and the palace it is connected to.

As Hela admitted, below this floor is an amazingly large dungeon, comparable to the size of a city, in fact. Souls of various shapes and structures were simply placed there. None shouted, or howled, but they all had a blank look on their faces.

Meanwhile, the hall itself had three exits on the three walls aside from the one with the Throne embedded on it. Where Hela led the group was, in fact, the actual Throne Room of Hel.

Walking towards a certain point of the pitch-black wall, Hela pressed her hand on the surface as her palms and a strange rune instantly accepted the print of her hand, revealing that even Hel had been renovated to match the modern times as a thin layer of the black wall around the size of a door slowly opened up, revealing a metal gate which Hela pushed open with both of her hands and that too by exerting herself slightly.

"Never would have thought you'd open doors for us, huh, you witch!" Poole instantly jarred while Nik finally picked her from Morgan's shoulder and stuffed her into his pocket.

"Shut it, already," he mumbled.

"Serves you right," Spider glanced sideways with a mocking smile. Her words pointed towards both, Poole and Hela.

*Click*

The gate was slowly pushed back, revealing a rather furnished hall. Instead of somber lighting filtered from green flames, this hall glimmered with a beautiful emerald chandelier, green carpet rolled down straight towards the stairs that led with a mighty throne made of a black metal. The pillars were not carved with the sight of tortured souls but depicted a beautiful afterlife. A scene of peace.

The room was not covered and looking up would reveal the icy, night sky of Niffleheim. And the most beautiful scene to Nik's gaze was a regal brown-furred giant of a wolf resting near the throne with a thick iron collar around its neck and chains reaching out from the collar, connecting the beauty to the leg of the Throne.

Its giant furry ears tilted down to cover the furry entrance of the ears and soft, growling snores echoing from the grizzly jaws of death.

Hela bit her lips as she saw the look on Nik's face.

"That is dangerous," Jennifer whispered.

"It isn't a 'that.'" Nik retorted, "Hela, what's this little sweetheart's name?"

"Garm... Lord," Hela averted her gaze, unable to look towards her wolf any longer. Garm was her hound. Yes, was. She felt that it won't be the same any longer.

"That's cute."

"No, it isn't," Janet was simply appalled.

Without waiting for others, Nik walked over to the elephant-sized wolf, his steps not the least bit silent and this instantly woke up the sleeping Garm.

*Grrrr*

A snarl echoed from the twitching nose of the beast while Hela reluctantly walked forward, "Down, girl!" She hissed.

Garm instantly lowered her head and cautiously gazed at Nik.

"There's nothing to be afraid of," Nik smiled as he raised his hand to touch the giant nose.

*Ao*

With a guttural howl, Garm bit on the thin arm, clearly intending to tear the man apart and Hela instantly paled.

But Nik only snickered as he used his other hand to pat the giant nose right in front of him while Garm tried to chew on Nik's hand, "Yes, yes, you've been left hungry for quite a while, right? Seriously, your owner is such a klutz despite being the Ruler of Dead... what would you like to eat? Maybe... this?"

Nik snapped his fingers and a giant slab of processed meat suddenly fell beside Garm. The wolf was stunned. From being unable to bite off the man's hand, to actually feeling quite comforted by his touch, and then smelling a lump of meat rich with energy, she simply wasn't able to process all of it.

Her large, yet, relatively beady eyes fell on her master but seeing that she wasn't giving any more commands, Garm let go of Nik's arm, revealing it to be covered with thick saliva and instantly tore apart the processed spiritual meat!

"Now, you're quite lucky to have such a good girl," Nik gazed at Hela impassively, "Take good care of her. Look at her fur? When did you comb her? And why does she stink so much? All living beings naturally have their scents but this is clearly because she isn't going through proper sanitation. And for the love of all gods, don't let your pet starve. That's just stupid. Be prepared to be punished for this later!"

Nik crossed his arm and began eyeing the throne room while Hela's lips trembled.

Humiliation.

Absolute, unadulterated, humiliation.

"Man... I wish he would treat girls the way he treats pets and animals..." Janet blinked.

"So you would rather have your hair brushed, than you know..." Jennifer smiled. She had seen Nik and Janet doing it first hand. In fact, that's when she got her piece of love, too.

"I didn't mean that..." Janet pouted and sat on Jennifer's reassuring shoulders, "But being fed food after feeding on other stuff by Nik wouldn't be too bad."

"What is wrong with you two?" Spider glanced towards their direction as Janet and Jennifer, who were now able to see Nik's phantom friends, shrugged.

"It's nothing wrong with them... but an unusual affection for pets does reveal that Nik has gone through something comparable to a cruel 'pet' experience? That would explain a lot of things."

"Or he just likes animals," Jennifer added.

***

A/N: Naturally, I am gonna keep Fenris as Loki's son and not Hela's pet as shown in MCU. Garm is Hela's 'beast' in Marvel.